Tale of a Mew
Zeni was showing his translations of the tablet they found in the Water Ruins to Myu, Bella, Lykos, Mimi, and Ryu. "Okay, so I've been working on this for the past couple days, and I think I've got a location for one of the cities this tablet mentions."
"Where is it?" Mimi asked.
"It doesn't say exactly, just somewhere in 'the endless grass sea'. This place is called Air City," Zeni responded.
"'Endless grass sea'? What the heck does that mean?" Lykos asked.
"Maybe it means its located in a massive plain," Myu said.
"A plain?" Bella asked. "There's an open plain east of Plains Village."
"Maybe that's where we should go. If the Shadows want what's there, then we need to get to it first," Myu said.
"We'll come too, right guys?" Lykos asked the others.
"My research, so yes," Zeni said.
"Our last adventure was fun. I'm in," Bella said.
"Lykos isn't going anywhere without me," Mimi said.
"I guess I can come too," Ryu said quietly.
"Great," Myu said. "We'll just need to inform Devoir and get directions to this place." Myu walked off to talk to the Chieftess.
Devoir looked over Zeni's translations that Myu handed her. "Are you sure about this?" Devoir asked.
"I'm sure," Myu stated. "We need to get there, and fast. If the Shadows happen to find it…"
"Find what exactly?"
"I don't know, but whatever it is, they want it enough to kill, so it can't be anything good. My associates are willing to go there, but we need directions to get to Plains Village."
"Take the east road to Azure Village as a start. From there, Don will provide you with directions. When are you planning to leave?"
"I think as soon as we've got the supplies we need," Myu responded.
"Well, make sure my daughter is okay during the trip, alright?"
"Ma'am, I'll do my best."
Some time later, Myu and his small band of travelers were on the east road to Azure Village. As they walked, they made a quick checklist.
"Poffins?"
"Check!"
"Water?"
"Check!"
"Tents?"
"Check!"
"Tent stakes?"
"Check!"
"Medicine?"
"Check!"
"Sleeping bags?"
"Check!"
"Good, we've got everything we need, then," Myu said.
"Remind me again why Dominus isn't coming along?" Bella asked.
"Because the last time he came along, he disturbed a nest of angry Joltik and Galvantula," Myu stated. "We don't need someone who shoots first and asks questions later."
"Plus, he's boring," Lykos said.
"And this trip is going to take several moons," Zeni said. "We don't need someone that big slowing us down."
"Plus, he'd eat all the supplies we could carry," Mimi added.
"We'll need to set up camp tonight. We won't make it to Azure Village today." Zeni said.
"Let's keep going until we lose the daylight," Myu suggested.
After a few hours of travel, night had fallen, and the group set up camp just off the road. Mimi had brought out several Poffins for everyone to eat. Myu picked up a pink Poffin and started nibbling on it.
"So, how long will it take to get to Azure Village?" Myu asked.
"If we start early enough, we should get there by mid-afternoon," Bella informed, eating a pink Poffin.
"You know how long it takes?" Lykos asked, taking a bite out of a pink Poffin.
"My mom used to take me to Azure Village when I was younger," Bella answered.
"How long will it take to get to this 'Air City'?" Mimi asked, eating a red Poffin.
"A few moons, assuming we can easily find it in the Great Plains ," Zeni said, eating a yellow Poffin.
"Is there any other way you can find the city besides the riddle?" Myu asked.
"Nope."
"Well, is there anything else about the city that you were able to translate?"
"Just that it was the home of all Flying, Dragon, and Bug Types, and the home of some Legendary called Rayquaza."
"Interesting."
"What do you think we'll find there, Myu?" Lykos asked.
"I don't know. Perhaps more tablets," the Mew answered.
"Well, we need sleep if we're to get to Azure Village tomorrow," Mimi suggested. "We should probably end our little conversation now."
"Alright. Zeni, put out the fire and we'll go to bed."
After Zeni did he was as told, the six Pokémon went into separate tents; girls in one, boys in the other.
Meanwhile, in a dark place, a blue Gallade was staring into a reflective pool, observing the six Pokémon in the reflection.
"Okay. So there are a few Pokémon on the East road. So what?" he asked, turning to his companion.
"These six are dangerous and a hazard to my plan," the figure answered.
"I fail to see how a few children are a hazard."
"They are heading to the Air Ruins. They intend to confront our minions or they will take what we want from there and leave."
"I still don't see how they are a danger. No one can defeat a Shadow."
"One of these six has defeated two." He waved a black paw and the image focused on the Mew.
"What is that? I've never seen a Pokémon like that."
"It is a Mew and it is a Legendary Pokémon."
The Gallade stared at the blue cat in awe. "What? I thought they were all gone."
"It appears that one survived."
"Then I shall send a Shadow to defeat him."
"You have failed to defeat him twice, and everyday he grows stronger. He's not just powerful, he is intelligent, something uncharacteristic of a Legendary." The dark figure pondered on that. "I wonder why."
"We can still defeat him if we send the right Shadow."
"I think not. A single Shadow isn't strong enough. I shall send two."
"You?"
"You failed to make the Pokémon in Crimson Village leave, and you failed to retrieve the locations of the other ruins. I shall send the Shadows. Not you." And with that, he left the Gallade.
The next day, Myu's group was walking on the road. The sun was high in the sky. As they walked, some were pondering on what they would find once they reached Air City and hoped that there might still be Pokémon there. Others were wondering if this Rayquaza was real and somewhere in the city. As they reached the top of a hill, they saw Azure Village not too far away now.
"Finally! We're here!" Zeni said, rubbing his legs.
"Looks just like I remember it," Bella commented.
They made their way into the village and Myu noticed how it looked almost identical to Crimson Village.
"We should find Don to let him know we are here," Mimi suggested. They looked around the village and eventually found the Charizard.
"Don!" Bella exclaimed, running up and hugging the Charizard's leg.
"Hey there. Glad to see you," Don said. He saw the five other Pokémon in the group and greeted them. "What are the six of you doing here?"
"It's a long story," Myu said.
"Come to my hut and tell it."
Myu told Don about what they had done in the Water Ruins, and what they had discovered. The elder Charizard took it well.
"So, the Shadows aren't attacking randomly then. They're after something in this 'Air City'," the Charizard summarized.
"We need to find it before they do," Bella said. "Do you know of any place like that?"
"I've been all over Avalon, little one, and I've never seen a place like that," Don answered.
"Well, we're hoping to find something in the Great Plains," Myu said. "Can you give us directions to Plains Village?"
"Sure, but you might want to spend a night here. It will be a long time before you get to the next village."
"We'll stay here then!" Lykos agreed.
"I guess, but only for a single night. We can't afford to waste time," Myu agreed.
"Great. I'll show you around Azure Village," Bella said.
Bella gave Myu a tour of the village, but there wasn't much of a difference between this village and Crimson Village, except that Azure Village didn't have a stone temple. They passed the battle arenas and Myu saw a couple Pokémon fighting. He wanted to learn how to properly fight, but didn't want to seem rude by asking. Bella noticed him looking at the arenas and accurately guessed what he wanted.
"You want to battle, don't you?" she asked the Mew.
Myu nodded his head in response.
"Well, let's find you a partner to fight then. One your size." She looked around the village and spotted a Pikachu. "Hey, my friend would like to fight," she said as she ran over. "Would you be willing?"
"Sure. Where is your friend?" the Pikachu asked. Bella gestured to Myu. "Huh. Haven't seen his kind before. Should be an interesting fight."
"He's new to fighting," Bella said.
"Then I'll go easy on him." The Pikachu walked to one of the arenas and picked one side of the arena leaving the other for Myu. Myu took a stance to prepare for the fight while the Pikachu got down on all fours. "Since this is your first fight, I'll let you have the first move."
Myu used his memory to cycle through the moves he knew to decide on what would be a good opening move. He placed his paws at his side and charged up an Aura Sphere, then fired it at the Pikachu. The Electric Mouse Pokémon rolled to the side to avoid it and charged at the Mew with a Quick Attack. Halfway to his target, the Aura Sphere struck the Pikachu in the back and sent him skidding across the ground. The Pikachu got back up, amazed at the move.
"Was that Aura Sphere?" he asked. Myu nodded, and the Pikachu started to realize that this guy wasn't a complete amateur like he had originally thought. Okay, so he's got a move that never misses, which is bad. I'm going to have to find a work around. The Pikachu took off with another Quick Attack, this time going around the Mew in an attempt to confuse him. Myu waited for the Pikachu to make its move and it came in a Thunderbolt. Myu shot his hands in front of him and put up a Barrier to block the attack. The Thunderbolt struck and ricocheted up.
He's got a defensive move. That's just as bad. If I keep firing off Thunderbolts, he'll just block them, so I have to get up close if I want to have a chance. The Pikachu took off again and used a Quick Attack to strike the Mew, hoping to catch him off guard. To his surprise, the Mew leapt up and over, dodging the attack. Myu landed on his feet, turned around and fired off an Aura Sphere. The Pikachu knew dodging was useless, so he fired a Thunderbolt at the Aura Sphere to hopefully stop it. The two attacks collided and set off an explosion. The Pikachu took advantage of the smoke and charged at the Mew with a Quick Attack, which struck the Mew square in the chest and sent him backward.
Myu stumbled around from the attack but managed to recover. He had to admit that was smart of the Pikachu. Myu retaliated by launching another Aura Sphere. The Pikachu saw the attack coming and ran away using Quick Attack. Myu was puzzled by this tactic, until the Pikachu started running at him. The Electric Mouse was hoping that the Aura Sphere would strike Myu and end this. Just before he could ram into the Mew, he leapt over him, landing behind Myu. Myu casually stepped to the side and avoided his own attack. The Pikachu, not expecting that, was struck by the Aura Sphere and sent flying.
The Pikachu stood back up after he fell down, still shaking from the unexpected move. "I'll admit, you're good. But you're still not better than me!" The Pikachu concentrated on his tail and readied an Iron Tail. As he ran at Myu, the Mew was thinking about what was going on, his mind moving fast. So far, he only knew three moves; Aura Sphere, Barrier, and Psychic, and his strategies were mostly ones he had seen elsewhere. While they proved effective, his main disadvantage in this fight was a lack of experience, something this Pikachu had a lot of. He was adapting to the Aura Sphere, figuring out ways to overcome the never-miss accuracy of the move. Myu had only two real battles to draw upon; his battle with Shadow Don, which he mostly just oversaw, and his fight with the Croconaw, which wasn't really much. He supposed that if he wanted to win, he needed to use all three of his own moves.
The Pikachu was getting really close now, so Myu stuck out his paw and concentrated, focusing on the Pikachu with Psychic. The Electric Mouse Pokémon was stopped mid-stride, his Iron Tail vanishing with his lapse in concentration. Myu lifted the Pikachu a few inches into the air before slamming him back down, hard. He wasn't really trying to hurt the Pikachu, not a great deal at least, just enough to knock him out. The Pikachu got up though, and thought of a way to overcome that move.
That was Psychic. A really powerful one too. How am I supposed to beat that? He remembered something he had learned a while back about Psychics and their powers. Most of them need to see the target in order to hit it. He got a plan in mind, and shot off again with a Quick Attack. This time he was zigzagging to prevent the Mew from locking onto him with Psychic. Myu, however, was anticipating the Pikachu's tactic and thought of a way to counter that. Just before the Pikachu could strike, Myu focused his Psychic on the ground, propelling him away from it as he leapt which sent him high into the air. As he flew, he charged up and fired an Aura Sphere at the stunned Pikachu, who was too distracted to notice the incoming attack. It struck, and the Pikachu was knocked out.
Myu didn't think to stop his fall as he mentally celebrated his victory so he slammed into the ground. Bella ran over to make sure he was alright.
"Are you okay?" she asked.
"I'm fine," Myu said, sitting up. "Is the Pikachu?"
As if to answer the question, the Pikachu pushed himself up. "Wow! You're better than I thought, for a rookie," he said. "But don't think this means you could beat me. I was going easy on you with only three moves. Next time, I'll be using all six to take you down."
"I look forward to our next fight, but I'm still going to win," Myu said back.
"We'll see about that." The Pikachu dusted his fur off and walked away.
"You were pretty good, Myu. Your first real fight and you won against a more experienced foe, no less," Bella complimented.
"Thank you."
As night fell, Don offered to let them stay in a spare room in his hut. Zeni rolled out the sleeping bags while Mimi got out a few Poffins for them to eat.
"Hey Myu. I heard about your fight earlier today," Lykos said.
"Oh, really?" the Mew asked.
"Everyone's heard of it. A newcomer beat one of the fastest Pokémon here," Ryu commented.
"Although I'm sure he could have done better, from what I've heard," Zeni said.
"It was my first fight," Myu said.
"Well then, perhaps we should train you how to fight," Zeni said. "I happen to know a lot of tactics that would suit someone like you."
"And I can teach you how to fight!" Lykos interjected. "I've always wanted to train someone!"
"I can help in that regard too," Ryu added.
"If he is willing to be taught," Bella said.
"I would be honored to learn. I'm sure I have a great deal to learn about Pokémon battles," Myu said.
"Great! We'll start tomorrow!" Lykos said, bouncing up and down.
Myu was glad to have them along and was eager to begin.
"You know, if we're going to all move forward, we need to give our group a name," Mimi suggested.
"But what name?" Lykos asked.
"How about…Explorers," Zeni suggested.
"Too dull," Myu said.
"Blue team!" Lykos said. "Since we're all blue."
"Not me," Mimi the Buneary said. Lykos pouted.
"I've got one," Myu said. "Team Orion."
"Why that name?" Zeni asked.
"Orion is the name of a hunter and an explorer. Since we're exploring, I thought it would be a good fit."
"I like it," Bella said.
"Me too!" Lykos said.
"Me too," Mimi echoed.
"I'm good with it," Zeni added.
"I'll go along with it," Ryu said.
"Then we're Team Orion," Myu said. "And tomorrow, we continue on to Air City."
"Yeah!"
End of Chapter 5